6 Ways Quitting Alcohol Changed My Life

18 months Sober, here’s how its changed me life
00:00 Introduction
00:33 Why I gave up the booze
01:21 How it’s changed my life
01:47 I am capable of so much more
02:21 I can still have fun without the booze
03:04 My friends and family still love me
03:53 The physical side effects
04:19 Becoming the best version of me
04:49 Final Thoughts
If you’re sober curious, doing dry January after a boozy Christmas or starting your sober journey, I hope it has as much of a positive impact for you as it has had for me.
And if you have any questions or sober stories i’d love to hear about them, comment below.
If you like this video please subscribe and check out my other sobriety content or alcohol free drinks.
Why a Sober Christmas is the Best Gift to Give Yourself • Why a Sober Christmas ...
7 Tips for the Best Sober Christmas • 7 Tips for the Best So...

[@user-sk7kd8vs2w]

My battle with alcohol addiction shattered my marriage, and despite my efforts to overcome it and maintain sobriety for the past year, my wife has chosen to leave. Coping with her absence has plunged me into a state of depression. Despite my constant demonstrations of love and remorse, she refuses to reconsider her decision. This has left me feeling empty and adrift, struggling to function effectively at work. I'm overwhelmed by frustration and grief, yearning for her presence to fill the void in my life.

[@user-yy9mt6kl3h]

Releasing a loved one is tough. I faced this when my 12-year relationship ended, and I struggled. Seeking spiritual guidance helped me move forward. Now, I'm truly happy.

[@user-sk7kd8vs2w]

What's the process for me to meet the counselor you're referring to?

[@user-yy9mt6kl3h]

I'm glad you're interested! To connect with Suzanne Ann Walters, the spiritual counselor I mentioned, just look her up online. Her guidance is worth seeking

[@user-sk7kd8vs2w]

thanks. i will do just that

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Thank you so much for replying and helping the person who commented. 💜

[@drunkinone5969]

35 years of booze but 4 days dry. So for, so good. Cheers and good luck.

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Amazing! How are you feeling? Wishing you the best of luck. ✨

[@drunkinone5969]

@MichelleOBrienYT gee thanks. 10 days in and lost the shakes. This community is the best. All the best.

[@drunkinone5969]

@@MichelleOBrienYT feeling great so far. My mind is much clearer and I seem to have extra time on my hands. Thanks for checking in on me. =)

[@user-pk7ut2hd3t]

Keep going 👍 A DAY AT A TIME I’me seven weeks no alcohol and feel so much better

[@ianmitchell9178]

beautiful video - congratulations! and thank you!

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Thank you so much, this means so much to me, 💜

[@mccann449]

Outstanding what an inspiration, I'm approaching my 2 year point and your 100% rite, thanks for making this video!!

[@jdrei5080]

Proud of you!😊

[@LandseerNorth]

I just stopped drinking 15 days ago. Thanks for your story.

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

This is great! How are you feeling?

[@LandseerNorth]

Great so far. An occastional urge but not very often and not very strong. Thanks for asking.@@MichelleOBrienYT

[@LandseerNorth]

Feel great so far. Hoping to drop a few pounds over time also.@@MichelleOBrienYT

[@martindrewelius2425]

Well done!

[@breannasmith7580]

This is so encouraging !!!

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Thank you so much 💜

[@TimLindley]

Powerful thing to do, respect to you

[@Kelly-iv4wk]

Thank you for this motivating video!

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Thank you for the comment ☺💜

[@elijahdunmore7526]

HI MICHELLE CONGRATULATION FOR QUITTING ALCOHOL I HAVE BEEN SOBER GOING ON 4 YEARS THIS 2024 ANYONE CAN QUIT JUST DO IT AND I GUARANTEED YOU WILL HAVE A WONDERFUL LIFE!!! MICHELLE THANK YOU FOR SHARING AND HAVE A GREAT 2024🙏🏾❤️

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Wow 4 years!!! That’s amazing!! Any advice? Thank you so much for your kind comment and encouragement 💜

[@peterj.fallon4327]

You are just radiant! Energetic, enthusiastic.. for real, you should be a speaker.

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Thanks so much Peter, I’m still trying to get comfortable in front of the camera, I’m used to presenting in person. 😅

[@mimigarritydenman2896]

Thank you so much for sharing your story. Videos like this are very inspiring.It's only been a few weeks for me but my mantra is "who do you want to be?" and as you said "I want to be my best self!"

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Oh i LOVE this mantra!! I'm going to add this to my daily journal. 💜 How is it working for you? Right now I am trying to improve a little bit each day, patience is not my strong suit but celebrating the small wins and not giving up. 😅

[@kristermister4791]

Yeah that post drinking anxiety is no fun...a general sense of worry that often grows throughout the day! Enjoyed vid, especially the points made about having fun sober.

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Thanks so much. Your comment means a lot. Happy New Year!

[@w1ldthin9]

nice video. very simple and to the point. thank you. im currently in the process of recommitting myself to quitting drinking, this time…ideally forever.

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Thanks so much for the lovely comment. Good luck! it’s hard at times but such a game changer. Life has honestly got so much better. I’d love to know how you get on. Are you starting with a dry January?

[@markg.4246]

The biggest roadblock to "quitting drinking", is being focused on "quitting drinking". Our focus has to be "living differently". The moment we start moving our feet differently, is the moment alcohol loses it's power. All the best to you, Mark

[@capri2673]

Well done. I hope you keep going with it. It'll be 9 years in April for me. It's been quite easy, really.

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Wow 9 years! This is amazing, any advice?

[@ianmaddox2314]

I'm over 2 years sober saving 300 pounds a month and feeling healthier with a clear head 🌻

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

This is so awesome Ian! Well done. Any advice? or any challenges you are facing?

[@paulcarysforth]

Just stumbled across this video from you Michelle! Loads of respect to you for posting this and creating a video series devoted to it. ❤❤ I gave up alcohol this month for dry January and going to continue. Went to my first business trip away with 5 colleagues all who had a drink and actually found it a lot easier than I thought. Felt so much better than I usually do. I’ve lost both parents in recent years and I used alcohol as a stress mechanism relief not realising it was the alcohol that was actually impacting my mental health negatively. That’s the biggest mistake I think people make but it’s so embedded as a belief system. Kudos to you and all the success building education. I think the peer pressure as you mention is the really social challenge still and being perceived as boring. It also makes others feel guilty when you’re not drinking and they are so this concern you’ll be excluded.

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Wow, hi Paul! Its been a long time. I hope you are well. Thanks so much for your message. Im so sorry hear about your parents, we had loss in our family last year too and it's so easy to try and numb the pain rather that sit with it, but unfortunately the numbing just compounds it all. I'm glad you recognise it and feel better off it. I'd got past the cravings and wanting it long before I gave up, the social side was and still is my biggest challenge, working on myself and building up my confidence and being happy with the person I am as a non-drinker changed it all. It still took me a year to say the words 'I don't drink' when offered a drink, rather than make up an excuse. Funny the world we have created where you feel shame or embarrassed for not putting poison in your body.

[@grahamdebling6280]

Well done Michelle.

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Thanks Graham. ☺️

[@julian-fricker]

366 days without a drink for me, I'm 51 and wish I'd done it 20 years ago. Wasn't an alcoholic but every time I reset my drinking with a month off I'd get back to where I was. The final straw was the cycle of losing weight while off booze and putting it back on as soon as I started drinking again. You also find out who are your real friends and who's relying on you as an excuse for them to be able to drink.

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

WOW congratulations, what an incredible milestone for you. How do you feel having hit the year mark? I was in that cycle for so long too, I was always easily persuaded to have 'just one drink' by my so called 'friends' who weren't really listening to me when I was saying alcohol was making me miserable and setting me back. I now spend more time with my friends who support it fully and want to do fun things without booze. My life is so much richer now, I hope you feel the same?

[@julian-fricker]

@@MichelleOBrienYT From May 2022 to October 2023 I was able to lose 3 stone in weight. During the summer last year I was training 3 times a day. I'm now on the longest run of consistent training I've ever done. That is 100% down to quitting alcohol. I wouldn't try to push this on anyone else but for me alcohol just wasn't working, the downs far outweighed any positives. I've been through a lot of problems in the last year with my parents' health and I know if alcohol had been in the mix I wouldn't have been able to cope.

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

@@julian-fricker 3 stone is amazing, that is such a huge achievement, I bet you look and feel brilliant! 💜 I train for my mental health more than anything and I used to get so frustrated when I could feel alcohol setting me back. I also love setting myself small (and sometime big like the marathon) fitness goals and feel so proud when I achieve them. Im so sorry to hear about your parents health last year, our stories are so similar, I had a tough year too with losses in the family and getting made redundant and I wouldn't have been able to cope if I was still drinking, even just a little bit. I cannot believe my resilience and strength since quitting > I wish you the same. X

[@johnvarley3964]

Hi Michelle Great presentation, You appear to be really 'Charged" by your new found self. I gave alcohol away 12 years ago and never looked back. I hope you realize that with such energy and vitality there is NO going back. When you fully appreciate the benefits of an alcohol free existence there is no alternative. your life is ever changed. I trust that the gods will reward you with all the wonders and love that life can bring. May you live long and prosper

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Thank you so much John, I can feel the incredible energy coming from this comment. I believe it. I feel it too. And I’m so excited for what it’s going to bring. 12 years is amazing, any advice?

[@johnvarley3964]

@@MichelleOBrienYT It is noteworthy that you have replied to many of the accompanying comments, my compliments. By now you will have noticed how some of the grammes of body weight have begun to trickle off, how the skin has improved, especially on the face, how our digestive system and lung function has improved, the list goes on and on. Humans are the only 'Animals' on the planet that intentionally abuse their bodies with known poisons and toxins, I reckon that we have come so far along the evolutionary path that continuing to use known poison is just a waste of our lives. After all we only get one shot at life, we need to be the very best we can be🤩

[@motorcitycichlids7181]

Gratz its been 8 years today for me keep it up

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

This is awesome! Any tips of advice?

[@motorcitycichlids7181]

Yeah when you get that feeling to go get a drink actually leave to get one... Then drive and dont stop until the urge goes away talk yourself out of it then go back home and chill

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Love this! So far one thing that’s really helped me is having a glass of no alcoholic wine or beer, it totally satisfies me and I forget all about wanting a drink.

[@stuartdunstan4062]

I have never been a big drinker i would not drink for 4 months at a time and the have a few at social gatherings so was drinking about 3 or 4 times a year but decided 31st December 2023 was my last drink and i feel already amazing and totally liberated! Thanks for this video! Keep doing what you are doing! X 🎉

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Oh i LOVE THIS. I was exactly the same, i'd reduced my drinking down to a couple of times and year and when I did I felt horrible after it, eventually I thought 'whats the point'. It took me a while to say out loud, when a friend or waiter asked me if i'd like a glass of wine, 'No thank you, I don't drink' but when I started saying it, I too felt liberated. I feel a sense of pride now saying whereas at the beginning I almost felt shame saying it which is crazy to think how society and cultural expectations can do that when it's literally putting poison in your body. Would love to know how your journey and experience progress, keep in touch.

[@shreykhetarpal]

Thanks for sharing your experiences, Michelle! Cheers 🥂 (non alcoholic sparkling wine ✨)

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Thanks so much Shrey, your support and encouragement means everything. 💜

[@shreykhetarpal]

@@MichelleOBrienYT 🩵🩵🩵🩵

[@charleslyall4911]

Well done to everyone ❤

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Loving the encouragement 💜 Thank you. x

[@samshailer8530]

Great video! I’ve wanted to stop drinking for a long time, I’ve managed 7 months at most in the past other times for a few months but this year I failed dry January 😢. I really want to change my perspective as the hardest part for me is FOMO !! I love you perspective, you’ve managed to get it right in your head. Like you did, I also worry about disappointing others. I need to get over that!

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Thanks so much, 7 months is an amazing achievement! Don't worry about failing, I think just recognising why it happened, how you feel and if you'd like to try again. I am totally with you on the FOMO, to start with i'd just say no to things where people were drinking but then I was missing out on too much. I cannot tell you how much the non alcoholic alternatives helped me, mainly so I had a drink in my hand that looked like booze, it was such a placebo and made me feel included. But yeah the biggest change was working on myself and feeling really sure in myself and confident enough to day 'no thanks, I dont drink' > it took me a year to say those words rather than just make up an excuse. I felt embarrassed but now I feel pride. It took time, be patient with yourself and know that you can do it. Xx

[@markg.4246]

Changing your perspective begins with changing your behavior. Nobody gets sobriety handed to them. It requires an effort.

[@billmoore1936]

Never mind I about disappointing other’s you have only one life so live it the way you want it Bill

[@Peopleyay]

This is a very high quality video.

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Thanks

[@steveconnolly7129]

Hi,being 34 almost 35 yrs sober,keep up the work,dont give in to the alc.alot of people are changing course,in their lifes,everyday just keep busy,

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Wow this is incredible. Any advice for going so long?

[@steveconnolly7129]

@@MichelleOBrienYT the best advise is find a good a.a meeting,and a sponser,somebody that understands the workings of staying sober

[@billmoore1936]

Yes and I bet you feel great no more hangovers sleepers nights and your life should be better now Bill

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Oh yes for sure and beyond that, I am starting to be proud of the person I am becoming which is a side effect I wasnt expecting.

[@billmoore1936]

@@MichelleOBrienYT From Bill yes you will feel great but you have to keep going with your life always think on positive side no turning back if you feel down talking to your family and friends does I myself get still get depressed even now after going on 8 years sober so just keep going Bill

[@lou24291]

I had 344 days with no beer… My birthday is on Christmas so I thought I would just give myself one day to have a couple drinks, and that turned into two weeks! I am mad at myself… I know myself better once I go, I go #StartingOver

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Oh, it happens, don't be too hard on yourself. I think just recognise how you feel, did you have fun, was it worth it, what do you want to do next and who is the person you want to become. It all sounds a bit deep but it wasn't until I got to the last question and asked it often that things clicked for me. I hope it helps and hope you are kind to yourself starting over, its hard but you can do it! x

[@mikealan1984]

I want to so bad but its like when you have those rough days and when friday nights come around thats what is making it hard for me

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

This comment resonated with me so much. I really understand. Have you read or listened to 'Quit like a woman' by Holly Whitaker, its this brilliant book about one womans sobriety, what I loved about it is she created new evening routines and a 'tool box' of things she could access and do when she felt like she wanted to drink, it included yoga, breathwork and meditation, simple self-care rituals such as tea and hot baths, specific practices to release anger, books, dancing and singing, aromatherapy, mantras, and many more. Ill do a video on a sobriety tool box soon but it could help to be prepared for those moments. Also having a little more belief in yourself, you can do it! X

[@pwk22]

I might reduce my consumption if I had hangovers, but I haven't had one in thirty years. I still remember what they were like, though.

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

No hangovers?!? Thats wild to me, do you not even get headaches or anxiety or bad sleep? Whats your secret? 😂

[@pwk22]

@@MichelleOBrienYT My secret: daily practice. I have zero anxiety, no mental health problems of any sort. I have had mild insomnia my adult life. If I drink, I get in bed and five minutes later, I'm asleep. Two days ago, I had nothing to drink and I was awake until 5:00 AM. When I wake up after drinking, I'm a little fuzzy for the first hour. As I've said before, I wouldn't want to take a Calculus exam feeling that way. But no headache, no queasy feelings, no symptoms at all other than the aforementioned. And no desire for another drink until 6:00 happy hour. Exercise may (or may not) play a part. I run five days a week.

[@nevisscot7697]

Can i just ask how much you would drink

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Sure. I was never an at home drinker, rarely would I come home and pour myself a glass of wine. I was a social binge drinker, once or twice a week I would go out and have upwards of three drinks, sometimes easily more than 10 maybe 15+ if it was a Saturday or Sunday day to night session. Since having kids though those big sessions were once a quarter rather than weekly like they were in my 20s. I found though the less I drank the more I noticed the negative effects I when I did. Also age probably played a factor, I’m almost 38. But it got to the point that even if I had one drink I would feel it the next day. Does that help at all?

[@nevisscot7697]

@@MichelleOBrienYT thanks .certainly you will be much better not drinking.10- 15 drinks would be a health risk.glad you saw the light and look fabulous.👍

[@loridickinson4930]

I’ve been drinking for years now and really want to quit. Can I do it on my own?

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

YES you most definitely can. 💜 If you are questioning whether you can do it on your own then I recommend reading 'Quit like a woman' by Holly Whitaker > this booked CHANGED everything for me. She struggled with alcoholism much worse that anything I have ever had to deal with and recovered not with a programme but with finding what works for her. I cannot recommend it enough. Its a great listen as an audio book too.

[@Anonymous-ez6cz]

Make sure you have a good motive and reason to quit drinking that will help you don't do it for people or husband or wife do it for yourself out of your heart

[@econtrolable]

I did it after 40 plus years. Did it all on my own. I would not recommend it. I am not the type of person that does well with programs or counseling. I do at times wish I had someone to talk to about all the different changes my mind and body are still going through. But I am here and proof it can be done. I recommend finding some type of help as this has been a hell I wish on no one. I have no idea where my strength comes from but I thank the universe for that every day. Plus waking up in the morning feeling like a winner helps me. Good luck and may the power of the universe be with you.

[@markg.4246]

First of all, quitting on your own can be fatal, depending on how frequently you drink. Secondly, if you've tried to stop, but can't "stay stopped", then believing things will be different with you driving the bus is insanity. Just a couple things to think about Lori. Best wishes...Mark

[@steveconnolly7129]

Alot of people going sober,and trying to make a difference in thier lives,and alot are makin it work,habe to encourage the newcomers,and to be positive about thier actions and lives,its pretty cool not having the use for that poison,well 191 does make a car run better,cleaner,but thats the only use for it,nothing else.have a great day tomorrow,and remember its not a good idea to walk out of bed all the time😀

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

Haha I love this message! Thanks so much. ❤️

[@steveconnolly7129]

@@MichelleOBrienYT thanks

[@Anonymous-ez6cz]

Get rid of the booze you get rid of your problems

[@MichelleOBrienYT]

For sure! It took me so long to recognise and even admit booze was a problem. I thought you had to be addicted for it to be an issue but that’s not the case at all.